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Thursday, August 02, 2012

gardening

The kids and I have been gardening again this summer. We have two small beds of veggies at home and we have a bigger garden at our friends' place out in the country, just like last year. It is oh-so-satisfying to grow your own veggies and then eat them for dinner the very same day. YUM! My kids are becoming good little gardeners/workers, too, which is an added bonus! They have been helping every step of the way: from planting, weeding, and harvesting, to eating.

This was one days' harvest: 25 cucumbers!, a few onions, beets, zucchini (only 2, hurray!) and several peppers.

So, what do you do with 25 cucumbers? Make pickles, of course. My sister passed this recipe on to me last year, which I've tweaked to my liking. They are so quick and easy to make. And so good, too!

Dill Refrigerator Pickles

In a 5 quart container (an ice cream bucket works well), place 4 heads of dill and 1 onion, sliced, in the bottom.
Slice (or cut into spears) enough cucumbers to fill the container. Set aside.

Mix brine ingredients in a medium saucepan and heat through. Pour over cucumbers and refrigerate.
Let pickles set for 24 hours before eating.

I've heard that they will keep in the refrigerator until Christmas, but we've never had them last that long. I've got a few too many pickle fans in the house for that to happen. :)

I grew beets again this year, even though I've never been a big fan. My husband likes them, (pickled) and I've always wanted to like them (mainly because they are such a great color!) but I never acquired a taste. Just last week my other sister offered me some 'non-pickled' beets (boiled and then served with a touch of butter and salt and pepper)...and you know what? They are soooo good! My kids love them, too! As crazy as it sounds, they taste kind of like sweet corn. Now, I'm trying to figure out how I've gone 37 years without trying boiled beets?! It seems pretty crazy to me! Oh well. I guess now I know. :)

Agree on the roasting your beets. It makes them taste like candy. I've never even needed to season mine. As for cucumbers, I just started making cucumber lime popsicles. It is super easy--water, sugar, lime, and a peeled cucumber in the blender. Pour into popsicle molds. YUM.

I wish I could have the beet leaves. My family tradition is to make "cabbage" rolls, but instead of cabbage, roll the rice in the beet greens and bake in cream. To die for! Wish I had garden space just for the beet leaves.

Try boiling the beets with the skin, because it preserves their lovely color and it´s easier to peel it off later. Slice them and put some salt, vinegar, oil and a little of "salsa golf" (it´s an argetinian sauce made of mayonese and ketchup). Yummy, yummy!! =)

Too funny... I read and thought "I must tell her to try roasted beets!" I guess that's what everyone else has thought, too. I'm with you on hating pickled beets... my grandma used to prepare them either boiled or pickled and my hopes would go up when I saw beets on the table, only to be dashed when I found they were pickled.

Alternative to foil... cut them like potato wedges and roast them in a 9x13. Make sure you cook beets until they are super soft. Roasting candies the sugars in the beets, just like yams.

Awesome! The part about beets makes me smile - because I've never been a fan of pickled beets, either. I'd never even heard of trying non-pickled ones until a few years ago. A friend with a garden insisted that I HAD to try regular beets, cooked and buttered. You're right: there's no comparison - they're delicious that way!

I LOVE beets. I have never tried them roasted but that is on my to-do list. Cucumbers, on the other hand, is at the top of my most-hated food. Weird, huh? I passed that distaste (hehe) on to my son. I always find people's food likes and dislikes fascinating.

We have a CSA this year and beets have been coming on strong this past month. We've been grilling them because we hate to turn the oven on in the summer. we cut them thick, spray olive oil on them and sprinkle some pepper on them and then toss them on the grill! They are tasty and I too am not a fan of the pickled variety! When the winter months are upon us I"ll have to try the roasted versions listed above!

Marina is right. Boil them with the skin and peel them when you are ready to eat them. At home we had them in salad once they are cold. Slices of beets, some onion, maybe shreded hard boiled egg. A bit of oil, salt, vinegar or lemon and sooo good and fresh!!!!! Mayonese if you like it, too!

I was going to suggest roasting the beets as well, but I see lots of people beat me to it. We think that they resemble sweet corn in flavor too - which is strange because as a kid I was convinced they tasted only like dirt.

Try them roasted -- a little S&P, sprinkle a little oil and wrap in foil. Throw them on the grill and roast (time depends on how small you cut the pieces and how big your foil wrap is (if you have a lot, make two foil pouches) Tastes like Sugar! Amazing!

I've never tried beets as an adult. My sister grows them in her garden and can't believe that I won't eat them. Maybe I need to try roasting one? We've had a bumper crop of banana peppers and roma tomatoes this year. It's hard to keep up with the bounty!

Love all the comments, there is only one use for beets that has been left out.Raw, grated beets added to a chocolate cake make the most moist, delicious, yummy chocolate cake that keeps really well. There a quite a few recipes for this on google, I usually just add a good sized grated beet to my usual choc cake recipe.Raw grated beets with onion, garlic, and a tasty dressing makes a great salad too.Marie from Western Australia.

I've got some roasting right now and they smell divine...I even eat them cold the next day dipped in ranch dressing. I never ate them either before I started volunteer gardening and was taught to roast them! Now I'm going to try your way too..give them a little boil.

Yea for the garden! I just picked 4 cucumbers out of ours :-). Have you tried Tzatziki sauce? YUM! I also like a cucumber Thai salad recipe that I found on the Food Network website. We go through lots of refrigerator pickles too! Never have been too fond of beets though, pickled, roasted, boiled or any other way. Same's true with Kale... blech!

I was never a big fan of beets either until my hubby cooked some and then added sour cream and dill when they were done. Serve them warm. They are wonderful! (if you like sour cream and dill weed, that is)

One more suggestion for the beets! :) I just started liking them myself two years ago - roast them as everyone has been saying, then chop and add to a spinach or lettuce salad with some toasted walnuts and - this is the most important part! - some soft goat cheese (chevre)!!!!

The goat cheese and beet flavor combination is out-of-this-world amazing!!

I have got some great ideas for beets here. Thanks everyone! I love mine roasted on a hot oven with EVOO and s&p. I will have to try them boiled and also the beet rolls, too! For those who like their pickled beets, I always make my pickled eggs at the same time. Just throw a few hard boiled eggs into the pickled beet juice for about 24 hours, and you're good to go. They are great alone, with just a touch of salt, & on salads, too!

Nobody has mentioned Borscht (soup) in the comments. Grate peeled raw beets, mix with equal amount of grated cabbage and some chopped onion. Simmer in beef broth til cooked. As much broth as you want - whether you want a lot of a little veggies in your soup bowl. Then it needs to be soured - either sour salt, vinegar or lemon juice. Serve with a dollop of sour cream. We always stir the sour cream into the individual bowls. Our kids' friend came to the door one day at lunchtime and said "euh! purple soup", but she left as a convert!

Well, I've always liked the idea of gardening but could never acquire the taste for it. I just do not enjoy it! Though I enjoy some of the spoils from a garden...but not the typical vegetables. I'd rather have the squash, pumpkin, rhubarb, etc. never cared much for tomatoes, lettuce, celery, etc. :-)

Like everybody else said, try roasting the beets. I do a big batch every two weeks or so. Then you can eat them on their own or tossed with salad. Or even as a side for scrambled eggs with goat cheese. The Monster can't get enough beets.

i had a salad in montreal a million years ago with beets in it, and i've been completely obsessed ever since, i take it to every picnic i go to.

boil the beets, then once they're cool slide the skins off and chop them. cut up as many green apples as you did beets, leaving the skin on. toss with a bit of balsamic, feta cheese and some pumpkin or sunflower seeds. SO GOOD! the beets are sweet, while the apples are a bit tart, and then the feta and seeds add a bit of saltiness. plus, the beets will turn the apple flesh pink, and combined with the green skin and the white feta, it's gorgeous.

beets aren't my gave either, but my csa has also been hammering us with them, moreso at the beginning of the summer. mostly, I would just roast them, cut in small pieces, with a little olive oil and salt. makes them taste so much better than pickled, etc.

what I liked better was the beet greens, which taste a lot like chard or spinach. my favorite thing to do with them was to make a crustless quiche, or just sauté the greens with a little garlic and butter or olive oil, and serve as a side dish.

Pickled beets remind me of my mother, other than quilts, that is probably the next best association i have with her memory (pretty crazy right?) the canned ones don't cut it but i recently discovered a local restaurant has them on their salad bar that taste just like mom made them! I sit there and eat pickled beets till i could pop!

our whole family loves beets. We saute the young greens. We eat them roasted and pickled (although we rely on Grandma to pickle them) and we also eat them raw shredded in salads.The Moosewood Collective's Simple Suppers cookbook has a raw beet salad that's to die for!Lisa

What a lovely harvest!May I suggest beetroot ánd cucumber? Cook, cool and peel beetroot. Wash and grate cucumber and beetroot. Add some radish and chopped onion. For the dressing use olive oil and vinegar; season to taste. Enjoy!

Dear Amanda Jean--I just got your book from Amazon--I have one word for you and your co-author Cheryl--"FANTASTIC"!! I usually get a quilt book and find one or two projects I like inside; I LOVE all of yours and am trying to decide which one to do first. But, I really, really love your "Sunday Morning" low value project. Thank you so much for a terrific book. Julierose

Pickled beets are the BOMB! Roasting is also a delicious way to cook them. Here's a quick tip for boiling them to be able to peel them to pickle - in your pressure cooker - 11 minutes and they are done! and ready to peel!! Just go easy when you release the steam - purple juice sprays EVERYWHERE!

AJ~ also just got your book from JoAnn's. Thought you couldn't outdo all the quilts on your blog, but I was wrong! Really lovely. As for beets~ good luck! The pickles sound great though. My garden was so sad this year, a couple tomatoes and one zucchini. So sad :(

I'm with your hubby - pickled beets are fantastic, and a favourite! But they also go great in soup - borscht for example - and thinly sliced raw in salads. I've come across some really interesting beet recipes online, too. Everything from burgers to cake.

Beets are so good and contain fiber! We enjoy their sweet taste without butter or anything extra. These days are too hot to heat the oven, so I've been boiling them after cleaning under cold water. It's great how the skins just slip off after boiling. There's a post on my blog about Beets!

I 'discovered' Golden Beets a few years back- you must try them too!! Even sweeter than the usual red ones and less earthy tasting AND they don't stain anything pink!! Hard to find as a grown crop but if you've got all that garden space then seeds are easy enough to find.

If you like the taste of horseradish you could also try this: boil the beets with the skin, peel and grate them, add a bit of lemon juice (or vinegar) and some grated horseradish. Add a bit of salt and sugar. In my home town they also add caraway seeds.

In Germany there are often shredded raw beets on the dinner salads. Also shredded carrots. Raw beets are sweet, much like carrots. If you have a food processor with a grating disk, try grating the beets raw and tossing them in salads. Wouldn't suggest grating by hand because of the red mess it makes on your hands, etc.

A quick funny-had an Asian family to dinner one evening and served roasted yellow and red beets, cut into tiny cubes and seasoned with a smidgy of olive oil, salt and fresh-ground pepper. The mom tasted them and promptly asked, "What are beets made of? These are great!" She loved the idea that they had come to dinner in their natural form. (not a pickled fan here either--such different flavors from a single veg!)

Just wanted to let you know that Juki should be paying you commission! I just purchased a TL2010Q! I'm so excited and a bit scared...i've been quilting on a janome that is half the speed...this Juki girl is FAST!

Wow! These pickles are absolutely the best! So quick and easy to make that as soon I my DH tasted them, he said "Better than Claussen!" & "They won't last until Christmas". Thanks so much for passing along the great recipe!

we love beets,no one mentioned Harvard Beetsheat beets take juice add sugar to taste add butter @ corn starch to thicken or use orange juice not juice and no one will know these are beets my family likes them this way Alice

I roast beets too, but I cut them up in slices, toss them in olive oil, salt and pepper, spread them on a sheet oan and roast at 400 until they are a little crispy on the thin edge... like potato wedges or oven fries, but pink and sweet and delicious!